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Rockingham CREW showering homeless with kindness

A ROCKINGHAM charity set up to help local homeless people has received $2500 for two new desperately needed showers.

The funding was allocated from the Rotary Club of Rockingham’s 2017 community grant program to the Christians Ready Equipped and Willing (CREW) group.

CREW chief executive Julie-Anne Moyle said the group held a quiz night in March to raise money for the showers but needed the extra funds to complete the project.

“We were just short of the amount we needed so for Rotary to help us out is just amazing,” Ms Moyle said.

“It has taken so much pressure off us wondering how we were going to get the showers finished.”

Ms Moyle said she hoped the new showers, which will be built in a self-contained module, would be operational by June.

“Showers are such an important part of the service that we run here,” she said.

She said there were only two other places in Rockingham that provided showers for homeless people.

Ms Moyle called on local businesses and tradespeople to help minimise the costs of the shower installations.

She said cost savings could go towards a larger capacity instantaneous hot water heater and hopefully a commercial washing machine to wash clothes, blankets and sleeping bags.

“We are installing two showers but we need a new building,” she said.

“We have outgrown this building and we have only been open for a year.”

Ms Moyle said 42 people attended a barbecue it held at Churchill Park on the Rockingham foreshore last Friday.

“It’s the biggest barbecue we’ve ever had,” she said.

“We are seeing more families due to the economic downturn and people losing their jobs.

“Kids are living in cars, it is hard and we didn’t expect to be this busy when we started.”

Rotary community services director Darrel Donovan said the club was happy to support CREW.

The club also funded another 13 projects from its $20,000 program announced last week.

Among them were the St Brendan’s Homeless Respite for lunches, Coastal District Care Centre for shoe, clothing, food and chemist vouchers and Lifeline to help people with mental health and depression issues.

All the funds were raised from the club’s popular Sunday markets that attract up to 1000 people every week.

The club, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, also approved funding for five defribilators for local recreation and seniors centres, costing about $12,000 this week.